Disney has released the first details of its plans to open a theme park based on the hit movie Avatar.

The park - modelled on the planet Pandora, home of the blue-skinned Na'vi people - is to open in 2017 at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, the Walt Disney Co said in a blog posting.

"In the world of Avatar, guests will encounter awe-inspiring floating mountains and wander through a night-time jungle of bioluminescent plants that are alive with light and sound," wrote Tom Staggs, the chairman of Walt Disney's parks.

"Guests will also discover what it feels like to soar into the sky riding a banshee."

Avatar is the highest-grossing film of all time, earning US$2.7 billion ($3.2 billion) worldwide.

Director James Cameron is currently working on the filming of three sequels to be released in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

"From the moment we released Avatar, there was this amazing visceral response from people around the world that they wanted to go to Pandora," Cameron said.